What is the mission of this tournament?
This tournament is intended as an early introduction for novices to college quizbowl. It aims to be extremely accessible while remaining within a normal academic distribution. The target audience is college players who are very new to quizbowl. Every year, many of these new players come to first practices all around the country, but few stick with the game. This tournament is an early-season introduction to competitive quizbowl in which novices can play against teams of their own strength on questions that reward the level of knowledge that they have. The hope is that this will be the immediate positive competitive experience that new players need to get hooked on the game.
Who is writing this tournament?
Like the last two years, I will solicit nominations and pick a team of new writers to work with me.
When will it take place?
The tournament will be available for hosting on any Saturday between September 7 and October 12. I prefer the September dates to avoid conflicts with other tournaments, but I'll work with hosts in regions that have later starts to host at an appropriate time. This early date should allow new players to play an event tailored to them within a week or two of the first practice. Ideally the tournament will be hosted before any other event in all regions.
What will the packets be like?
There will only be ten packets, because I want to keep the day short to avoid quizbowl fatigue and to allow teams the chance to return to their campuses during the afternoon. The questions will be strictly length-limited to five lines of ten point Times New Roman (ten-line max for bonuses). The packets will probably be distributed in 12-point TNR for reading ease, so they may appear to be longer, but all will be held to the five/ten line ten-point standards. Packets will follow the ACF distribution and will resemble normal quizbowl.
Who can play?
Procedure for applying for special permission to play: 1) Email me at [email protected]; 2) state which of the Rule 4 points would render you otherwise ineligible; 3) list when and how you came to achieve any of the accomplishments that lead to your being otherwise ineligible; 4) state succinctly why you want to play. I grant most, but not all, exceptions.1. All ACF eligibility rules apply, except when they contradict the rules below.
2. This is a tournament for introducing collegiate novices to quizbowl. Consequently, no high school teams or players are eligible.
3. Anyone (who does not break Rules 1 or 2) who has never played quizbowl before is automatically eligible. Other academic competition does not count as quizbowl for this rule.
4. Players meeting one or more of the following criteria must apply to the head editor for special permission to play:
i. If you have already completed your second year of college (calculated from time in college, not credits). Time in a post-secondary high school program does not count.
ii. If you were ever on a playoff or top-bracket team at NAQT HSNCT or PACE NSC.
iii. If you have ever scored at least 30 points per game at any college tournament.
iv. If you have ever won any college tournament.
5. Anyone who does not fall into any of the four categories listed in Rule 4 is automatically eligible to play.
What is the cost?
The cost is around $15 per player. Host sites will post their own discount tables.
Who is hosting, and when?
Sept. 14
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Sept. 21
Cornell
Kentucky
Stony Brook
Michigan
Sept. 28
Virginia Tech
Minnesota
Maryland
Missouri
Waterloo
University of Texas
Oct. 5
'
Carleton (Ottawa)
Washington
Oct. 12
Florida Gateway
Chicago (Sunday, 10/13)
South Carolina
Oct. 19
Berkeley
Unannounced sites
Claremont
I'm currently soliciting host bids. Please email me at [email protected] if you're interested in hosting. As usual, I'd like there to be as many host sites as practical to lower travel times for newer programs.